If you're willing to wait it out, TivoMargret says a Fios cablecard fix is coming in a software update in possibly 2 weeks. If Frontier can't get it together, at least Tivo is on it.

I called Frontier again; they sent an "unhappy" technician who did have a -017 version of the card! I wasn't home (my wife was) - he installed it, had it activated, but no channels available - told my wife that I need to call TiVo. Got home, called Frontier Support and asked for the card to be re-activated and YAY!!! ALL WORKING NOW!!!! Awesome!

I just bought a TiVo Roamio Plus. It replaces a TiVo Premiere 4. I have Verizon FiOs for cable & internet. I took the M Card out of the Premiere and placed in the Roamio. All the channels worked EXCEPT for HBO & MAX (the cablecard activation screen popped up on those channels). Called Verizon, they validated the card. Everything seemed great until those channels started to pixelate and the sound would cut out. I called Verizon again and luckily I got in touch with someone who was willing to take the time to search their internal tech forums. He found that this was a known issue with the Roamio and the older M Cards. My card was one that had the 006 number, so he sent me to the local FiOs store to get a new one with 017 on it. I got the card, got home, installed and did the online self activation. All channels worked except HBO & MAX. Called Verizon again, tech told me to remove the card & reboot the TiVo. He then had me re-install and he validated the card. Voila....all channels work! The tech told me the issue has something to do with the upper channels using MPEG 4 encryption and the older M Cards having outdated software? The Roamio is great having the MOCA installed, I just hooked up my cable to the Roamio and that's all I need to stream Netflix, no built in wifi needed, Ethernet or wifi dongle, it's great! Anyhow.....I am thankful for the a TiVo community and Margaret because I found this thread before I called so I knew what to expect. Thank you!

I was able to pick up a new CableCard from my local Verizon FIOS store. The folks in the store didn't really know anything about the different Motorola part numbers, but after inspecting the card to assure it was correct, I went on my way.

I installed the card and attempted to provision the card using the Verizon web site. This worked for some content, but not the HBO/Cinemax channel block. I then called the Fiber Help Desk and went through the usual Q&A with the tech. Eventually, the tech mentioned that Verizon has a tech note describing the "incompatibility" between the Roamio and the various CableCards. After going off to research that for a few minutes, he called me back. He didn't actually know the part number printed on the card, but described them as MCPOD1, MCPOD2 or MCPOD3. I convinced him that the part number on the card was correct and he escalated the issue to a higher level tech. That tech gave him additional instructions as to how to re-validate the card and magically, it began working.

Have the base model Roamio with lifetime subscription - first time Tivo owner...

Got FIOS installed. Supposed to be getting HBO+Cinemax, but it refuses to work on the Tivo unit. I have a non-DVR HD receiver from Verizon as well in the bedroom that gets those channels just fine.

With my first cable card I'm able to get all the channels I'm supposed to except any of the HBO+Cinemax ones. The Conditional Access screen shows "? 0x00" for VAL, and "S" for Auth, "Yes" for Con.

After several hours on the phone with the techs repeatedly trying to restart things and debug, they finally decided to send me a new card.

With the second card, and several more hours on the phone with the techs, all I can get are my local (HD) channels! The conditional Access screen shows "V 0x01" for VAL, "MP" for Auth, and "Yes" for Con. The second card is one with the 017 in the part number (not sure about the first one as I don't really want to pull it out to look right now).

I'm about at my wits end with this thing! I've put the original card back in and am sending the new one back. It would be nice if I could get SOMEBODY on the other end @ Verizon who has a clue with this stuff.

OOB SNR is really 377dB? That's not right, and that could be the source of your issues. The commands for activation and validation are sent over OOB, and if there's a problem with the OOB, the card won't get the commands or understand them. This is the second time I've heard of this issue with the base Roamio....I don't know if it's a software glitch or a hardware failure, but I do know it's wrong. Just to be sure, I just double checked....on my Roamio Pro (which has worked fine from the beginning with FiOS), the OOB SNR is 24dB, which is what I'd expect. The other numbers match yours exactly.

It might help if I better understood what all the various things mean (like the OOB stuff, etc.)

I just spent ANOTHER 1+ hours on the phone with another Verizon tech. She managed to get the new card working to the same level as the original one (local + national channels work, but no HBO/Cinemax).

She had me try to do a software update from Tivo (which some book told her was needed) but I went through the process 4 times and it never came back as saying that an update was available to install (I had done those previously).

That card is now showing CON=yes, VAL=? 0x00, Auth=S

At this point they're sending a tech out to look at it, but if he's anything like the first one that did the initial install, I'm not holding my breath... I'm about ready to tell them to just drop HBO+Cinemax altogether... IT's not helping that they have no idea what any of the menu information means either, so even though I tell them "I should be seeing a number in the VAL field" they don't know what to do with it...

Is the OOB stuff done via the Ethernet or across the coax? I ask because I have my system set up with the FIOS-->Verizon Router-->Apple Airport Extreme-->ethernet to my devices, so there's a double NAT situation taking place (wish I could just dump their crap router altogether but don't see how that's possible because of the coax hookup on it...Still need to figure out how to turn the wifi on their router off...)

OOB is a part of the RF signal that comes from the coax. OOB = Out of Band, where commands and authorization comes from the head end. The other part of that RF signal is In Band, which is the actual picture/sound part of the signal. I truly don't believe this is a Verizon issue, I would call TiVo and tell them that you are seeing 377dB for the OOB SNR. If you happen to have a Verizon STB, put it in place of the Roamio and look in the diagnostics of that (Menu - settings - system information - hit info button), and you'll see the actual OOB SNR of that line, it likely will be around 24-26dB.

It might help if I better understood what all the various things mean (like the OOB stuff, etc.)

I just spent ANOTHER 1+ hours on the phone with another Verizon tech. She managed to get the new card working to the same level as the original one (local + national channels work, but no HBO/Cinemax).

She had me try to do a software update from Tivo (which some book told her was needed) but I went through the process 4 times and it never came back as saying that an update was available to install (I had done those previously).

That card is now showing CON=yes, VAL=? 0x00, Auth=S

The card, at this point, is working as expected. From those settings the card is authorized but is not paired with the device. That "Val=" needs to have a number after it and not a question mark.

One thing to keep in mind when pairing. There is a step some techs do that resets the card and changes the Data Id on your system (I think this is when they deactivate and then reactivate the card). When this occurs, they must re-enter the new value on their side or you won't get the copy protected channels (HBO, CINE, 143).

When you got the second card working, you said it displayed a "MP" in the Auth field. You must see an "S" there for successful. "MP" means packets were missing when the card was authorized. (http://support.tivo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/2569). I'm not sure what could cause this although I'd suspect someone on the Verizon side of things.

One thing you can do is post on the Verizon Direct channel on DSLReports (https://secure.dslreports.com/forum/vzdirect) - (You'd have to register). Those posts are private. You can post the appropriate information (Data ID, Device Id, etc..) and they can authorize/pair the card for you. Verizon techs monitor the forum and will respond to you there. It may be quicker than waiting for a truck roll. I've had pretty good success posting there.

I am having a Roamio delivered on Monday. It is replacing a TiVo HD. Since my current cablecards are likely older versions, I went to the FIOS store and picked up a new one with the 514517-017-00 code.

I subscribe to HBO and Cinemax. Does the online activation of a cablecard now also pair the card? Or is it absolutely necessary to call Verizon to get the card paired? If it is the latter then there is obviously no reason to activate it online since it will end up unpaired by doing so.

If I have to call in for activation and pairing, what words should I use with the representative to make clear what I need to have done? From what I've read here the phone reps seem not to understand how their system works. Using words and processes that they can see on their screen seems to be the key.

Once your Tivo gets done updating, the pixellation bug should be gone. The old cable cards don't seem to have the issue any longer (I'm using at least one of the old ones now.)

With a brand new cable card, the online process might both activate and pair. The issue is usually with pairing, not activation. I did find if it fails, and you try repeatedly, it may deactivate the card. You have to call at that point anyway so it doesn't really matter.

You have to keep an eye on a couple of items depending on what the Verizon representative does:

After they say its' paired, check one of the copy protected channels (HBO, CIN, or 143). If those work, your good since the card has to be both paired and activated to get those channels.

If those aren't working check to make sure:
- CON = "yes"
- Auth = "S"
- Val is V + some number (make sure no ?? 0x00 in there)

If Con and Auth are ok the card is activated.
If Val has question marks after it, it is not paired. (This is usually where the problems reside)

If the card is not paired, make sure you and the verizon rep recheck the information. When a verizon tech deactivated and reactivated my card, my Data ID changed. That means it couldn't be paired until that value was reentered. Keep an eye on the data id. During the process if it changes, the tech has to reenter it. If it keeps changing, they have to stop deactivating the card when they go to pair it.

EDIT: I forgot to mention, if you keep having problems you can post on the dslreports "Verizon Direct" forums. It's a private forum so you can post your info (all 3 values + the CC serial #) and they can help. it's usually faster than calling and they've always done it right for me.

If dealing with questionable phone support isn't your thing, You can also do this over online chat or twitter at @verizonsupport if you give them the cablecard ID, Host ID, data ID, as well as the serial number written on the card itself as well. (Their twitter support is actually quite good.)

So I'm thinking I'll first activate the card online and cross my fingers for pairing. When/if it isn't paired I'll contact Verizon Direct via dslreports as I have a logon there.

I just want to clarify what info I'll have to give them. I'm looking at the Cablecard Pairing screen on my TiVo HD and see the four items mentioned: 1)Cablecard ID, 2) Host ID, 3) Data ID and 4) card serial number (which I have already written down).

Do I also have to give them my Verizon account number or something like that to identify which FIOS customer I am? I don't have a FIOS phone number so my account number would be it, I guess.

I would write to them and say that my cablecard is activated but is not paired, preventing me from watching copy-protected channels like HBO and Cinemax. Or should I just tell them that the card has to be manually re-validated by them for me to watch HBO and Cinemax?

I gave them my name and address each time I asked, but I doubt it's necessary. They should see the cable card info on their side.

I would just tell them it the status: Activated but not paired or it needs to be reactivated and paired. Every time my card has been reactivated, my Data ID changed. If they have to activate it, you may have to follow up on the thread with a new data id.

I had given them the normal 3 data lines, but then they asked for the card's serial number. That was apparently all the twitter support folks needed. They can probably pull up the rest on their own. But you can tell them whatever personal info you think is helpful.

For the card itself, I would just say the automated activation didn't pair the cablecard to my new Tivo. Please *manually* validate the card so I can receive all the channels. Thanks.

It might help to stress the *manual* validation, as they have an "auto validate" option in front of them which they might be used to using, and it won't work for the same reason the online validation didn't/won't work (whatever reason that could be).

Has anyone seen an issue where just some of the premiums are pixelating? I repaired both my cablecards with my new roamios tonight any everything is working except hbo/ Cinemax are very pixelated.

I have FiosTV

*** RESOLVED ***

Is this issue limited to subscription channels? I have the affected cable card model number (514517-006-00) but do not subscribe to any premiums. Do I need to replace my card. I loathe the idea of trying to get Verizon to swap the card without having them show up with the same model number or disconnecting my cable card before the new one arrives, etc.

Is this issue limited to subscription channels? I have the affected cable card model number (514517-006-00) but do not subscribe to any premiums. Do I need to replace my card. I loathe the idea of trying to get Verizon to swap the card without having them show up with the same model number or disconnecting my cable card before the new one arrives, etc.

Thanks,
Hammie

According to cram501 in Post #162 above the old cablecards seem not to be having the pixelation issues anymore.

Is this issue limited to subscription channels? I have the affected cable card model number (514517-006-00) but do not subscribe to any premiums. Do I need to replace my card. I loathe the idea of trying to get Verizon to swap the card without having them show up with the same model number or disconnecting my cable card before the new one arrives, etc.

Thanks,
Hammie

Is the card paired? (To find out, check to see if you receive anything on channel 131.)

A couple people have reported pixelation on non-premium channels, but it went away by having the card paired.

If you're not getting anything on channel 131, follow the above advice and ask for the card to be *manually re-validated.* (You may need to pull the card out to get the serial number first.)

If that doesn't work, Fios's hot signal might cause pixelation too. In which case you could try adding an attenuator or splitter to your coax right before connecting it to the Tivo to try easing the signal strength.

So today I set up my new Roamio Pro with the cablecard I picked up last week from Verizon. I elected to activate the cablecard as part of going through the setup of the Roamio. So when the Roamio asked if I had a cablecard I said yes and it instructed me to put it in the slot. When I did the appropriate screen popped up with the info I needed to activate the cablecard through Verizon.

I then went to the FIOS website where activation is done. I put in the appropriate information and got it to say that it was initializing the card and that I should wait. When it finished it said activation was successful.

The TiVo then let me check a few channels and, lo and behold, even HBO and Cinemax had been properly paired.

Well, is there a way to ID the cable card without physically looking on it? E.g. from the menus? My Tivo is buried within an entertainment center and not exactly convenient to pull out... also I'd have to do it when Tivo is not recording something.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TiVoMargret

Here's the latest on Roamio + Verizon:
1. You want to make sure the CableCARD you are putting in your Roamio has this part number: 514517-017-00. (On the back, above the barcode.) If your Roamio has a CableCARD with a different part number, you'll need to call Verizon and have them swap the card.

I bought a Roamio Plus to replace a TiVo HD. The card in it was a Motorola "002". I went to the office and swapped it for the latest card they had, which is a 012.

I paired it over the phone with the activation folks. It took a couple of tries, plus an inexplicable wait (30 mins or so). When I was about to schedule the appointment, all channels started working.

It has been running for a few weeks, recording on 6 tuners, no problem. Then I noticed Cinemax (which I rarely watch) starting to pixelate. Now HBO has pixelated as well and is unwatchable. All other channels good, including Showtime.

My Tivo Premiere is on the same cable and is working perfectly on all channels.

I assumed that the firmware updated on the 012 card, so I am surprised to have this "slow degradation" kind of situation. Usually, a Tivo install is hours of pain followed by years of nominal performance.

My 6 tuner roamio plus was working fine for almost a year. Sunday we started to see this same problem. Screen looks like this:

This is a Verizon FIOS install. Roamio plus 6 tuner with 2 minis.

This affects all channels. Either they can't tune at all or (most) show as stripes. Saved content plays fine and the menus are clear. Just no live TV.

Yes, it is the older 002 m-card. They sent a replacement but I didn't know at the time to ask for the 017. Replacement didn't help. I'll take it out and check the number later today. A third card is already in the way. Hope it is a 017.

Weird. Really strong signal (still) so not a signal issue. No problems before Sunday. It is like they pushed down a card update that broke it.

I don't subscribe to HBO or Cinemax, but in June Verizon gave me complimentary HBO through September. For whatever reason the HBO continued into October and kept working on my Premiere Elite XL4. I did a Google search and found other people that reported that their free trial HBO also continued past the supposed expiration date until one day it just stopped.

HBO worked on my XL4 until I moved the M-Card (with the 017 part number) to my new Roamio Pro last week. I guess the process of pairing it to a new box caused the HBO to fix itself and end. I wonder how long it would have continued on the XL4 if I hadn't removed the M-Card.

I have gotten things to improve slightly but not fixed by attenuating the crap out of the incoming signal. I had a few attenuators left over from previous homes. I put all of them in (almost 30db) and things are still scrambled but I occasionally get a whole image, especially on low def channels.

I really think the issue here is the signal is just too hot.

I hope this hasn't damaged my Roamio or the cable card. We'll see if the FIOS tech agrees with the assessment.

I don't subscribe to HBO or Cinemax, but in June Verizon gave me complimentary HBO through September. For whatever reason the HBO continued into October and kept working on my Premiere Elite XL4. I did a Google search and found other people that reported that their free trial HBO also continued past the supposed expiration date until one day it just stopped.

HBO worked on my XL4 until I moved the M-Card (with the 017 part number) to my new Roamio Pro last week. I guess the process of pairing it to a new box caused the HBO to fix itself and end. I wonder how long it would have continued on the XL4 if I hadn't removed the M-Card.

Well at least that is a nice change. They used to start charging you for the premium channel once the trial ran out. So if you never canceled it you would continue to be charged the full monthly rate. Which is way too expensive for what you get with HBO.